Not All Teens Shop For Trouble

September 08, 1996

Restricting teenagers from hanging out at the mall is a bit like telling spawning salmon they aren't allowed to swim upstream. Most kids over 12 would rather be socializing with friends than almost anything else.

The local mall is an ideal gathering spot for the independent-in-training. There aren't many places left where a young person can be entertained nonstop in a convivial atmosphere without paying admission or being watched by parents.

Nowhere is the appeal greater than at the Mall of America outside Minneapolis. Besides 400 stores, arcades and several nightclubs, the mall encompasses an indoor amusement park complete with roller coaster and flume ride.

So it seems hypocritical that the world's largest mall, and thus a trend-setter, plans to refuse entry to everyone under 16 on Friday and Saturday nights unless they are with someone 21 or older. Security guards will check IDs at the entrances.

Packs of teens apparently have irritated mall- goers with rude talk and sophomoric pranks. Food has been dropped over balcony railings onto the shoppers below. A merchant was hit with a flying chocolate shake.

All pranks haven't been as benign. One teenager pointed a gun at a bystander, mistaking him for a rival.

Still, the chaperone rule is bad policy. It penalizes the majority of teenagers for the actions of the anti-social. What's more, it has already invited charges of racism, since many of the young people who frequent the mall in groups are black.

Business owners should not be expected to baby-sit for ill-mannered children. The poorly behaved should be ejected regardless of age. But those who respect the rules ought to be able to visit the mall freely. The idea of checking identification -- something most people under driving age lack -- seems an absurdly cumbersome and discriminatory task.

There are other ways to discourage socialization. Westfarms, for example, has no food court, movie theater or arcade. The management is clear that shopping is the mall's sole purpose. Loiterers who obstruct other shoppers are asked politely to move on.

The Mall of America is an entertainment complex in the guise of a shopping center. It would make more sense to weed out the bad apples with diligent enforcement of rules, rather than turn away invited guests who have done nothing wrong.